TrueInsight Newsletter

You’re Welcome
Tips for Crafting the Most Important Email of All: The Welcome Email

The bell over the door rings. The door creaks open. And in walks a customer. It’s arrived: that magical moment when someone has taken the trip and the time out of their day to do business with you! Or, at the very least, learn more about what you have to offer.

But then something strange happens. Your office manager refuses to look up from his computer. Your account managers continue to chat in the corner. Even you’re too busy on the phone to offer a simple “hello” to this amazing new prospect. After 10 minutes of being ignored, the prospect turns on his heels and walks out the door, never to return again. The magic moment is gone.

You’re probably saying to yourself, “This would never happen in my organization!” Maybe not in person, but what about online? New subscribers to your email marketing lists are essentially potential customers that have just walked in the proverbial door, raised their hands, and said, “Yes! I’m interested in your business at this very moment.” And if you ignore them at this critical moment, it’s as much a lost opportunity as the scenario above.

That’s where the welcome email comes in.

Welcome emails are the critical point in your conversation where you set the tone and expectations for your ongoing relationship with a subscriber, while staying top of mind at a point when he or she is most interested in you. And considering that welcome emails typically have much higher opening rates than regular emails, it’s a marketing opportunity you don’t want to miss.

Here are some best practices you should take into consideration when building your welcome message—or evaluating your current one.

Add Personal Touches—Show your subscriber that this is the start of a true relationship by giving a personal tone to your message. Include as much information about the recipient as possible. Even if all you know is the subscriber’s name, a simple “Dear Lucy,” is better than no personalization at all.

Confirm the Details—Let the subscriber know their sign-up was successful. In fact, this should happen in two places: on your website’s thank you page and in the welcome email. Also include any important new account information if necessary—like the subscriber’s user name and password—and encourage the recipient to save the email for future reference.

Set Expectations—Reiterate the details of what the subscriber has just signed up for, in terms of the content she can expect to receive, and how frequently she can expect to receive it. This will make her less likely to mark your future emails as spam.

Explain the Perks—Make the subscriber eager to receive your emails by telling him how he will benefit from the content, whether it’s new learning opportunities, exclusive access to offers, time-saving tips, what have you.

Offer Up Your Appreciation—Don’t forget to thank the subscriber for her interest in a warm and genuine tone. And providing a special “New Subscriber Offer”—like a coupon, discount, or free content (think white paper or recorded webinar)—is a great way to make your subscribers feel immediately special, and help you capture that next conversion.

Don’t Forget Your Subject Line—Make your subject line straight forward, include your offer if you have one, and be sure to brand it. Something like “Welcome to Pets.com—Get 25% off Your Next Order” captures all the important details.

Make it Easy for Them to Manage Their Subscription—Don’t forget the standard subscription-management tools you should include on all your emails:

>>Remind your subscriber to add your domain to her address book (or whitelist) to keep future emails out of the spam folder.

>>Make it easy for your subscriber to share your content with a forward-a-friend link.

>>Provide links or instructions on how to modify a subscription or unsubscribe.

Now that you know what makes for a good welcome email, take a look at the ways you’re currently reaching out to new subscribers and make sure your welcome is a warm one.